Diana Rodriguez Wallach, whose YA romantic suspense Proof of Lies is new this week, joins us to list five favorite heroines who kick butt and get all romance-y, too.

Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Diana: Some girls like to play damsel in distress and wait to be rescued, while others land scissor kicks and rescue themselves. Real men can handle the latter, which is why I love female characters who can throw down and fall in love at the same time. Bonus points if they can deliver witty one-liners while saving the world. So in the age of pink hats and #shepersisted hashtags, it’s nice to take a moment to appreciate the fictional females who help us channel a little Gloria Steinem mixed with Rhonda Rousey.

Sydney Bristow, Alias. I’d be remiss if I didn’t start this list with the kick-butt heroine who helped inspire my creation of Anastasia Phoenix in Proof of Lies. I love spy dramas, but I particularly love when female leads are crazy tough and independent, but also realistically flawed. Sydney’s got serious family drama, along with a couple of hot love interests. (While I ship her and Vaughn, the Philly girl in me still pitter-pats for Bradley Cooper). The wacky red wigs and massive explosions may get you hooked, but it’s the way Sydney saves the world and her loved ones that makes you want to be her.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy and David Boreanaz as Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Photo: 20th Century Fox)

Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This is hands down the best TV show of all time. Game over. No contest. But putting my bias aside, what made Buffy such a ’90s icon was the fact that she could tear up any evildoer in her path, while spouting puns and winning the heart of a vampire who puts all the Cullens to shame. You have not seen brooding, angsty love until you’ve watched a Buffy–Angel crossover event. “We saved the world. I say we party.”

Khaleesi, Game of Thrones. Daenerys Targaryen, aka Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, has two huge advantages over the other women on this list — that being dragons. But given that Buffy has Chosen One powers, we can’t hold two fire-breathing winged pets against our silver-haired heroine. Khaleesi can walk out of fire unscathed and bring down a country of slave masters, but it was when she turned the tables on an arranged marriage and fell in love with Khal Drogo that everyone swooned. I miss the (always shirtless) Khal, but I can’t wait to see what happens when Khaleesi fights for the iron throne.

Jason Dohring as Logan and Kristen Bell as Veronica in the movie Veronica Mars. (Photo: Robert Voets, Warner Bros. Pictures)

Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars. No, she doesn’t throw roundhouse kicks or release deadly dragons, but Veronica Mars is armed with a camera, a trusty Taser (Mr. Sparky) and a whole lot of sarcasm. Plus, she solves murders and juggles a love triangle. (Though was anyone really on Team Piz? Like, anyone? It was Logan all the way.) If Anastasia Phoenix went to high school with Veronica Mars, the two definitely would be besties. “I hope we’re still friends after I Taser you.”

Jane Doe, Blindspot. Jane’s pretty much Jason Bourne’s equally amnesiac and capable sister. Only with more tattoos. (Because can you imagine Matt Damon with a full suit of tattoos?) Jane’s innate fighting abilities warrant being on this list, even if the romance on the show is taking a seriously slow burn; eventually she’s going to have to go there with her FBI co-worker, like she has to. And Sandstorm, the creepy organization they’re fighting, reminds me a lot of Anastasia Phoenix up against Department D in Proof of Lies. If they ever met, Anastasia and Jane could trade notes on how to fight an international criminal ring with government connections and ties to dear old mom and dad.

In a way, Anastasia Phoenix in Proof of Lies was inspired by all of these kick-butt women. They may be fictional, but in this Age of Pink Hats and Girl Power, learning how to fight back, balance a personal life and still leave room for a little wit has never been more important.

About Proof of Lies:

Some secrets are best kept hidden…

Anastasia Phoenix has always been the odd girl out, whether moving from city to international city with her scientist parents or being the black belt who speaks four languages.

And most definitely as the orphan whose sister is missing, presumed dead.

She’s the only one who believes Keira is still alive, and when new evidence surfaces, Anastasia sets out to follow the trail—and lands in the middle of a massive conspiracy. Now she isn’t sure who she can trust. At her side is Marcus, the bad boy with a sexy accent who’s as secretive as she is. He may have followed her to Rome to help, but something about him seems too good to be true.

Nothing is as it appears, and when everything she’s ever known is revealed to be a lie, Anastasia has to believe in one impossibility.

She will find her sister.

About Diana

Diana Rodriguez Wallach is the author of the Anastasia Phoenix series, three Young Adult spy thrillers. The first book in the series, Proof of Lies, is set to debut in March 2017 (Entangled Publishing). She is also the author of three award-winning Young Adult novels: Amor and Summer Secrets, Amigas and School Scandals and Adios to All the Drama (Kensington Books); as well as a YA short-story collection based on the Narcissus myth, entitled Mirror, Mirror (Buzz Books, 2013).

In 2011, she published a highly regarded essay in Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories (HarperCollins). It was the only essay chosen from the anthology by Scholastic to be used in its classroom materials. Diana is featured in the anthology Latina Authors and Their Muses (Twilight Times Books, 2015), and she is currently on staff as a featured blogger for Quirk Books.

In 2010 Diana was named one of the Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch by LatinoStories.com, and she placed second in the International Latino Book Awards. She is an advisory board member for the Philly Spells Writing Center and is a Creative Writing instructor for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth. She holds a B.S. in journalism from Boston University and lives in Philadelphia.